Agriculture

Transporters' body supports protesting farmers; calls for strike in North India on Dec 8

Updated : December 03, 2020 04:07 PM IST

AIMTC tells CNBC-TV18 that the next move is to deliberate on nation-wide.

Around 8,000-10,000 trucks are getting stuck at Delhi-Haryana-Punjab borders and supply is impacted.

India's apex body for road transporters has declared it will shut down its North India operations on December 8, in a bid to display its solidarity with thousands of farmers who are demanding revocation of the government's contentious farm bills.

The All India Motor Transport Congress (AIMTC) has called for a strike in Delhi, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, and Uttar Pradesh joining hands with protesting farmers, who have been out on the roads for over a week now.

If the government is unable to conclusively address the farmers' demands of a minimum support price guarantee and reversal of the decision to remove "middlemen" from the farm procurement process, transporters will call for a nation-wide chakka jaam, or strike, where all truck movement will be halted, Kultaran Singh Atwal, President, AIMTC said.

More than half of the over 95 lakh trucks in the country are engaged in moving farm produce, making truckers significant stakeholders in the farmers' agitation.

Clogged roads and borders due to police barricading are impacting the movement of thousands of trucks carrying food, vegetables and other perishable and non-perishable items from Punjab, Haryana, Himachal Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Jammu and Kashmir.

Around 8,000-10,000 trucks pass daily through these routes and a majority of these are getting stuck at the borders and supply is impacted. After the time the logjam clears up, it will take nearly a week for all the trucks to be able to move, AIMTC told CNBC-TV18.

The Singhu border between Delhi and Haryana and the Delhi-Gurgaon border facilitate the movement of trucks carrying fruits, vegetables and milk products from Punjab, Himachal and Jammu and Kashmir, while the Delhi-Ghazipur border, which is also closed, is the entryway for trucks originating from Uttar Pradesh.

This is leading to shortages of essential items and seasonal fruits and vegetables in Delhi and other Northern states. Only a handful of trucks skirting the highways and following internal routes are able to make it to Delhi at the moment.

The shortages are also driving up prices of fruits and vegetables in Delhi.

Transporters' body supports protesting farmers; calls for strike in North India on Dec 8

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